"Yes, you're quite right." A stiff upper lip was going to be necessary if he was going to explain all this. "It....I..." He sighed, exasperated with himself for falling apart at the seems, and cleared his throat before trying to continue again. "I had a nightmare. But if I start to believe what's happening, if it's too real, then it can blend into reality because, well, because of my mutation. And they...." He choked up again, but managed to swallow the tears. His face and hands were wet from crying as he realized when he tried to wipe at his eyes. His face shifted, a disgusted look as he looked at his own wrinkly form, then settled again before he continued. "What you saw was my nightmare attacking me." He flushed again, fidgeting, ashamed of his own weakness.

He hated having people see him like this, weak and naked without his illusions to cover him. He was disgusted by his own form, his looks giving him a sense of absolute discomfort. A sneer graced his lips as he looked over his visually deformed legs and wiggled his toes. Even the usually amusing look of that action was turned sour by his outward appearance. Whoever said 'it's what is inside that counts' had obviously not lived long enough to forget their own age.